JOHN BACON, KARL ETTERS | USA TODAY
Updated 39 minutes ago
Students from Broward county speak with Republican legislators
My friend is dead because they don't want to do their job
Students from Broward county speak with Republican legislators
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Scores of students from Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School rallied alongside hundreds of students from other schools Wednesday at the state Capitol, chanting "Never again" and "Shame on you!"
The energetic crowd waved signs including "Keep our schools safe" and "I will not stand idly by." They cheered vigorously during speeches as students from the school, the scene of last week's shooting rampage that killed 17 people, demanded an end to gun violence.
A rally against gun violence in Florida culminates
A rally against gun violence in Florida culminates at the steps of the Old Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. as Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School … Show more
JOE RONDONE, USA TODAY NETWORK VIA THE TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT
Lorenzo Prado, a Stoneman Douglas junior, choked up as he told of being mistaken for the gunman in the chaotic minutes after the shooting started. He said a SWAT team ordered him to the ground at gunpoint and handcuffed him. Prado, near tears, said he felt guilty for the people he could not protect.
“Many would blame this event on the FBI’s lack of action or the Trump administration," Prado said. "The simple fact is that the laws of this beloved country allowed for the deranged gunman to purchase a gun legally."
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Florence Yared, a 17-year-old student at the school, joined the chorus of students saying they won't feel safe when they return next week.
"No longer can I walk the halls I walked a million times before without fear and sadness," she said. "All because of the damage that a single AR-15 rifle caused."
The rally came one day after Florida lawmakers overwhelmingly rejected — along party lines in the heavily GOP state House — a ban on many semiautomatic rifles and large-capacity ammunition magazines. Many of the Parkland students in recent days had voiced support for such a ban.
State lawmakers, however, have expressed some support for other proposals endorsed by the students, such as deeper background checks and stricter gun rules for people with mental health issues. Gov. Rick Scott has promised a package of proposals by Friday, and President Trump was scheduled to meet with survivors of gun violence Wednesday.
Rep. Patricia Williams, D-Fort Lauderdale, right, hugs Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Daniel Bishop, 16, after Bishop and fellow students met with Williams to advocate for gun-control legislation at the Capitol on Feb. 21, 2018.
Rep. Patricia Williams, D-Fort Lauderdale, right, hugs Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Daniel Bishop, 16, after Bishop and fellow students met with Williams to advocate for gun-control legislation at the Capitol on Feb. 21, 2018. Show less
HALI TAUXE, TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT VIA USA TODAY NETWORK
The Parkland students met in small groups with state lawmakers, and many of the teens expressed frustration with the chats. Spencer Blum, a 16-year-old junior, also expressed his frustration at the state House vote.
"I was speechless. I had anger, dismay, shock," Spencer said. "They had even introduced us, they knew we were up there. The beautiful choir sang a prayer for us. They knew we just went through a mass shooting that killed 17 people."
Students at some high schools across Florida, and even elsewhere around the nation, held walkouts in solidarity with the Parkland students.
About 200 students at Oasis High School in Cape Coral walked out to the school's tennis courts, demanding more security in schools and more resource officers. Among their supporters: Jacquelin Collins, superintendent of the Cape Coral charter school system.
"I support it 100%,” Collins said. “I’m glad they had the gumption to get up and speak, and I’m very proud of them.”
Not so the superintendent of schools in Needville, Texas, 40 miles southwest of Houston. Curtis Rhodes promised a three-day suspension for any and all protesters, parental note or not.
"Life is all about choices and every choice has a consequence whether it be positive or negative," Superintendent Curtis Rhodes warned in a statement. "We will discipline no matter if it is one, 50 or 500 students involved."
In Arizona, 200 students at Gilbert High east of Phoenix gathered for 17 minutes of silence — one minute for each fatality in Florida. In Delaware, more than 150 Wilmington Friends School students gathered at the flagpole for 17 minutes, demanding stricter gun laws.
"I think we just need to start trying things," Friends sophomore Abby Vandenbrul said. "I think we have to stop debating and start doing things before another tragedy happens."
In Washington, D.C., dozens of high schoolers gathered outside the White House, chanting "No guns, no NRA, no violence in the USA!" Hundreds of demonstrators at the U.S. Capitol shouted "Enough is enough!"
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Parkland students push lawmakers for gun control at Florida Capitol
Paloma Mallan, 16, said the teens were skipping school to march on the White House because it's up to them to bring about change.
"It seems like there's been shooting after shooting and the adults in power right now aren't doing anything," Paloma said. "It could be us next, it could be one of our friends."
Hundreds of Tallahassee-area high school students joined the Capitol rally here.
“It’s so important that our voices are heard,” said Sarah Leitch, a high school senior from Jacksonville. “And we need to show lawmakers that if they keep being complacent about gun violence, they’re not going to be re-elected.”
Rep. Sean Shaw, a Democrat from Tampa, urged the Parkland students, who traveled more than 400 miles to make their case, to press their demands.
"We had a chance to do something and we didn't," Shaw said of Tuesday's party line vote in the house not to take up a bill on banning assault weapons. "That's why you're up here. Go and demand action. You're not up here to ask. This is about you. This is not about us."
Bacon reported from McLean, Va. Contributing: Nada Hassanein, Tallahassee Democrat; Sarah Jarvis, The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press; Marilyn Icsman and Erin Kelly, USA TODAY
